Mysterie
by Harukaryu
Summary: He looked her over... and she had -he did a double-take- wings. Big, purple, feathery, see-through wings."
1. The Fall

**Mysterie**

/ I'm typing this on my phone, so I'm sorry if it takes some time! I hope you like it, anyway. Wheee! :)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, or anything asociated with it! ****Sue me at your own peril, because if you do not have legitimate grounds I will park your car in the spot that says if its owners aren't there to dine at Chili's, the car will be crushed and melted! Muahaha! (Yes, that sign does exist!)**

Danny floated leisurely above Amity Park, relaxing with his hands behind his head and watching the stars. For a second, he closed his eyes- and immediately reopened them to stare in shock at his now rudely occupied stomach. In his moment of inattention, a bruised, bleeding girl that looked about his age had fallen onto his stomach. She had brown hair, jeans, a blue tank top, and - he did a double- take- wings. Big, purple, feathery, see-through wings. She lay immobile on his stomach for a few moments. Then her mouth moved.

"Whatever I'm lying on top of is soft, cold, probably frozen in shock, and 396 feet in the air. This isn't good." And with that, she fainted dead away.

Danny floated, frozen, for a minute or so more before deciding that the strange girl needed help, and fast. He flew her to his room and opened the first aid kit he always kept there, though usually it was for his injuries. Still, by watching and caring for his, and occasionally Sam's and Tucker's injuries, he knew what to do. Within minutes her injuries were bound, and he was happy that none of then were too serious. Soon, she began to stir. When he moved towars her, however, amethyst eyes shot open and her body flew into the air, but she crumpled to the ground in matter of moments. She cursed, then eyed him warily.

"Who are you? Why am I here? What do you want with me?" By now, she was practically growling at him. Staying where he was so as not to spook her, he answered carefully.

"My name is Danny Phantom, resident ghostly protector of Amity Park. You are here, in my room, because you fell out of the sky and bled all over my stomach. And... how the heck did you get purple wings?" During his answer, her gaze had gradually softened, and she chuckled at his question.

"I am sorry I have caused you so much trouble. I got the wings from a wish. Is that how you got your ghost powers?" When his eyes widened in surprise she chuckled again. "It is not so hard to feel the essence of life in you, even if it is covered by your _phantom_ form." As he continued to stare, she added "and not many ghosts use their rooms everyday, and have families that like to snore." Indeed, Jack's snoring was shaking the house. Then her eyes saddened. "As much of a pleasure as it has been talking with you, ghost-teen, I must leave." Again, she tried to get up, but fell down. This time, however, he caught her before she could hit the ground. "Shit. Do ya have a car you can spare for a couple days?"

He looked at her sternly. "You aren't in any condition to drive anywhere, let alone move! And if you are as old as you look, its not legal for you to drive. I am NOT going to let you just go and get killed! You aren't moving from my bed if I have to freeze you to it!"

She was looking at him disbelievingly, though she managed a weak smile at his final comment. Finally, she looked resigned.

"You aren't going to give up unless I give in, are you?"

He smiled triumphantly. "You hit the nail on the head."

"Mother hen," she grumbled as she lay back onto his soft sheets.

"Am not!" He exclaimed grumpily.

"Yeah you are. Worrying about strangers without thinking about youself. Example A: Making a fuss over the random winged girl that fell out of the sky ONTO YOU without putting an icepack on the bruise on your stomach" (when she mentioned it, he realized suddenly that is hurt) "and I'll bet you haven't slept in days."

Danny was suddenly very interested in his shoe. Seeing his discomfort, the girl laughed and scooted to one side one his bed. "Come on in. I don't mind if I sleep next to a guy for the night. And you can go back to your human form; I don't think your parents will be pleased to see a ghost in their son's bed. And yes, I won't give up till you give in."

Danny stared back stubbornly for a few moments, but it was obvious that he was not the winner of their verbal battle. With a sigh, he turned off the lights, then reverted back to Danny Fenton and got into his bed. He stiffened when he felt fingers brushing against his stomach, then stared when he realized that there was now a block of ice fastened to his stomach, secured there by thin strands of ice. It didn't feel all that cold, but his stomach felt better.

"For the bruising," her disembodied voice explained "don't worry, it'll melt by morning." He relaxed again, and within moments both were asleep.


	2. School

**Mysterie**

/ I'm typing this on my phone, so I'm sorry if it takes some time! I hope you like it, anyway. Yaaa! :)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, or anything associated with it! However, a certain winged girl IS my property, and though I do not care if someone wants to use her, I do if I am not informed!  
Haru's muse: Why would anyone want to use your character?  
Oh, be quiet. Onto the story!**

Danny woke up after the best night of sleep he had had for a long time. Unhappy with his awakening, he rolled over, then froze when he heard a crinkle. He blinked blearily for a moment, then sat up suddenly. The girl! Where was she? Hearing the crinkle again, he looked down and saw a note in unfamiliar handwriting.

_'Morning ghost-boy! Don't worry, I heal quickly. I'm feeling much better than yesterday. I think I'll stay here in Amity for a while, if only to keep you from leaving your town to chase me. (How is it that when I'm least strong, I encounter the most mother-hennish Guardian I've ever seen?) I'll be keeping an eye on you. If you see anything thats weird, even for you, please whistle, it may be important. Thanks for the help!  
-Arystyem (Arty)  
P.S. Check the time._

He reread the letter once more, feeling a little cross because she hadn't even bothered to wake him up and say goodbye. Oh well, he thought it probably would have been awkward anyway. Then, he checked the time. Yikes! School was starting in 5 minutes! Very happy that he had forgotten to change his clothes the previous night, he grabbed his backpack, went ghost, and flew at top speed to school. Surprisingly, he wasn't late, as he burst into the classroom just as the bell rang. His teacher sighed and walked to stand beside a new girl who was standing in front of the board. She had a confident but amiable air about her, and a cheery demeanor. She had gently tanned skin and sparkling sapphire eyes, which seemed to rest on Danny a little bit longer than the rest of the class. She was wearing a lilac short-sleeved shirt and brown shorts, with a funny green headband that kept her hair away from her face. For some reason, she seemed familiar to him, but he quickly brushed it off. Mr. Lancer introduced her as Kirjava Pudam, but she quickly told the class to call her Kir. This produced a grumble from the teacher about girls these days and boy's names. Since she said that, he put her next to Sam (in front of Danny) because of their preferences in names. She promptly sat down and high-fived Sam, then turned back to the teacher. Amazingly enough, she didn't seem bored as he prattled on about their latest reading, though that may have had to do with her paying more attention to the book than the teacher. After the bell rang, he rushed to the locker room, and when he got out he was surprised to find her in the gym already, kicking a soccer ball around. Usually he was the first, because of the lack of sanity in the locker rooms. He watched her dribble for a few seconds, then stepped in. The second his feet hit the gym floor, a soccer ball was heading at a high velocity towards his stomach. He dove out of the way just in time. Suddenly, she was beside him, helping him up.

"I'm terribly sorry! That was a total accident I swear! Are you ok?"

He smiled, "I'm fine, Dash does worse to me everyday."

Her eyes narrowed. "Who is Dash?"

"Uh, well," he gave up on trying to soften the situation, "He's a bully. Don't worry about him" he added hastily upon seeing her eyes narrow further, "he only goes after-"

"Fentonia!"

"Me..." Danny sighed turning around. "What is it today, Dash?"

"Why, I'm whaling on ya for the new kid's entertainment!" He turned to Kir. "Well, I see you're already here. How would you like him, wasted or wasted?" The blonde cracked his knuckles and advanced, while Danny sighed.

"Actually, you cannot waste him, seeing as the only kind of waste is only tangible, and cannot be done to someone. Since there is no other option, why don't you figure out something better and come back tomorrow. Tea parties are nice!" She grinned good-naturedly at the jock and giggled. To Danny's amazement, Dash stared at her for a moment before scratching his head and walking away.

The halfa blinked, then turned to stare at the perky girl beside him. "What did you just do?"

She smiled mysteriously. "I sent him away. Watching stupid people do dumb things to better people than themselves isn't my thing." She met his eyes for a moment, and he saw a wealth of wisdom in their sapphire depths. Then she turned and walked towards Mrs. Tetslaf. He stared after her, trying to process the meaning and power of her look, before Sam dragged him to the class huddle.


	3. Fight

**Mysterie**

/ I'm typing this on my phone, so I'm sorry if it takes some time! I hope you like it, anyway. Yaaa! :)

**Disclaimer time!  
Arystyem: The author does not own Danny Phantom. If the author did own the ghost-boy, then the author would control the world (trust me, this is quite possible).  
Shh! Don't tell them that! Ahem, on to the story.**

Kir was surprised to discover Danny in her fourth period class. They exchanged a couple of notes laughing about the teacher's stupidity. However, the new girl noticed Sam looking at her and Danny angrily, so she quickly ended the note passing. After that class, it was lunchtime. Sighing, she held her tray of inedibles and looked around for an empty table. She was surprised to see Danny motioning her over to a table with just him, Sam, and an african-american boy sitting across from them. Happily, she headed for their table, making sure to sit next to the unknown kid, and across from Danny, so as to avoid Sam's glares and talk to her new friend. She noticed that her seatmate scanned her warily before engaging in conversation. She learned that his name was Tucker, that he was a technogeek, and that Danny's parents were ghost hunters, which she found interesting. Kir scanned the trio quickly, noticing that Danny, Sam, and Tucker were much stronger than they looked. They had good reflexes (she dropped a salt shaker), and were in excellent physical shape (she could tell in gym class, no matter how much the guys tried to hide it). Also, they seemed to periodically glance at a curly- haired african girl, then her. Studying the other girl, Kir realized that she seemed to stay up often, and glance periodically at some bracelets on her wrist. This seemed quite odd, but judging from the trio's guarded demeanors, she wasn't going to learn anything from them.

Suddenly, she saw a blue mist escape from Danny's mouth, and the popular girl sprint off. Kir took cover in a corner, letting mist cover her until she emerged... with amethyst wings. Then, she saw a ghost in front of her, floating in the midst of panicked, fleeing students. Bluish and grandmotherly, she offered Kir- now Arystyem- a steak. Although she knew she was going to regret it, she opened her mouth. "Pass." Almost immediately, all the meat in the cafeteria flew to the ghost, transforming her from a little old lady to a large, meaty monster. Arty quickly dodged a massive fist, then let heat pool into her right palm to create a rather large fireball. She quickly threw it, along with a bunch more to incinerate the ghost's bloody covering without making a huge mess. At that point, Danny Phantom showed up and sucked the specter into... a soup thermos? She mentally scratched her head in confusion before her attention was diverted at the entrance of a red-suited girl on a jetsled holding a big gun. Immediately, the gun was trained on the halfa.

"Ghost boy! I've got you now!" The girl started shooting at Danny, who dodged a couple pink blasts before exiting through a wall. The huntress tailed him closely and Arty followed them both, wondering what was the matter with the two.

Up in the sky, the newcomer flapped her wings and watched the ghost and the girl fight. She noted that the girl aimed for obliteration of her enemy, while the ghost-boy only tried to take out his opponent's jetsled and weapons. She flew in a bit closer.

"Hey! What's going on here?" she called.

"This darn ghost-kid messed up my life!" growled the suited fighter, "I'm going to make him pay!".

Danny wore an exasperated look, as if he'd heard the argument many times. "I told you I was just chasing that stupid ghost dog! And for the bajillionth time, I'm sorry!"

"Sorry won't do anything for me ghost boy! Now stay still!"

"No way, I'm quite happy to remain unscathed." At this, the huntress growled, attacking faster. Suddenly, Arty felt a familiar foreboding feeling in her chest as she caught a menacing odor.

"Shit." The way she said that one word made the combatants stop for a moment to look at her. Her tone was dark and full of hatred. "Guys, run. Now."


	4. Grantuls

**Mysterie**

/ I'm typing this on my phone, so I'm sorry if it takes some time! I hope you like it, anyway. Whee! :)

**Disclaimer time!  
Arystyem: The author does not own Danny Phantom. Suing the author for plagiarism is like banning cigarettes but not pot in Holland (to try and reduce smoking). It won't work! Onto the story!**

Arty stared at the Grantul in front of her. The Grantul stared back for a moment, then charged.

Now before we go into the fight, the reader may want to know what a Grantul is. Grantuls are essentially expendable hit men: brawn, no brains, a strong desire for blood, and a pigheadedness that drives them to attack until they are disabled or destroyed. They seemed to have a talent for throwing rocks, but that was about all the weaponry their brains have the capacities for knowledge of. Physically, they are ugly, with squat, heavily muscled bodies and large leathery wings. Their entire bodies are gray except for their piggy red eyes and long yellow talons. Picture one of those gargoyles on old European buildings, like churches. Now give them a more humanish shape - a fat, ugly human, at any rate. Then just add muscles, red cat's eyes, and long claws. Finally, envision it flying at you, trying to knock you out of the air, and slashing with overgrown (and very sharp) nails and you have your very own Grantul, trying to obliterate you.

Arty didn't have time to contemplate the creature's lack of beauty; she just took one look at it hurtling towards her and folded her wings against her back, and dived. When she'd gone a safe distance below it, she unfurled her wings again, stopping in midair. Without wasting a moment, she sent a kind of rope made of water to solidify into ice around her opponent and bring it to the ground. Unfortunately, this Grantul was marginally smarter than most. While falling, it broke the ice, and smashed heavily into the concrete below, creating a large hole in the ground. It then grabbed a rather large piece of the sidewalk, and threw it at its assailant. Arty dodged, but it hit her shin anyway. She grimaced, knowing from the pain that the bone had broken. Still, she readied a fireball in one hand, and a water whip in the other and prepared to unleash her fury upon the hellish brute. However, Danny moved in front of her.

She started, surprised- she had temporarily forgotten about the other airborne teens in favor of her own fight. As she tried to get past the halfa to fight, she noticed Valerie sweep over her opponent, raining down a hail of ectoblasts on the creature and dodging more flying concrete. Part of the winged girl's mind noted that they seemed to have a temporary truce, but the rest of her concentrated on bypassing the stubborn ghost. For some reason, the huntress's ectoplasmic beams seemed to do a lot of damage to the Grantul and it lost energy quickly. When it finally lay on the ground, twitching, the halfa let it Arty pass to examine their handiwork.

"How do we get rid of it?" the suited girl asked as she glided down beside them.

"_I_ get rid of it," Arty started, summoning another fireball, "like this." She drove it straight into the place where the Grantul's heart should be, and the entire thing imploded, turning into a small pile of ashes. "Now, does anyone know where to find some bandages?" Arty asked as she landed. However, she accidentally hit the ground at a weird angle with her broken leg. "Aww, man!" she moaned as she felt a searing pain, and then her world went black.

Danny and Valerie whirled around simultaneously at the thump behind them.

"Oh man, not again!" The halfa groaned: he couldn't risk bringing her to his house and exposing his secret.

To his surprise, Valerie stepped forward and picked up the unconscious girl. "Something's not right here" she growled, "and Wings here is going to tell us what!" As she prepared to depart, Danny came up to them, somehow feeling guilty that she was hurt in his presence. Knowing the huntress's dislike for him, he grabbed Arty's hand and turned them all invisible - "I'd be weird if anyone saw." The huntress looked at him oddly, but didn't stop him, to his surprise.

At the Grey's apartment, Arty was treated while Valerie questioned Danny about his experiences with the newcomer. He described her abrupt entrance and exit, leaving out the parts about his human half and "mother-hennish" self.

Finally, Arty began to stir. Valerie helped her to sit up, then the questioning began.


	5. Arty

**Mysterie**

/ I'm typing this on my phone, so I'm sorry if it takes some time! I hope you like it, anyway. Thpbpbpbpt! :P

**Disclaimer time!****  
Arystyem: The author does not own Danny Phantom. Sue, schmoo, you can't touch me- ha!**

"Who are you?"

The winged girl smiled. "Thats an easy one; my name's Arystyem, but you can call me Arty."

Valerie took a moment to commit this to memory before continuing. "You're obviously not normal, but not dead either. What are you, where do you come from, and what can you do?"

For a moment Arty was silent. Then, she sighed. "It's a long story."

Valerie checked her watch. "We've got a couple of hours, and besides, your leg is broken."

The injured girl winced. "Thanks for reminding me... Well it goes like this. First of all, I come from another dimension." She smiled as she looked at the twin expressions of surprise in front of her. Ooh, this was going to be interesting. She held up a hand to silence their questions. "Yes, another dimension, although its actually quite similar to this one- except we know about other dimensions." Once again she had to silence the two before they got off track. "We also have cities, and such. But our world is divided between two types of people: the Fire People and the Water People. As their names suggest, they control fire and water. But, their elements being opposites, they are also opposites, and as a result are constantly at war. My parents lived in the country, one of the few places not dominated by war. They met one day when my mother climbed the dividing fence. All was fine for a while, until I was born. You see, they still had to live in their respective towns, for fear of detection and execucution, because both civilizations had laws against the mingling of their people. But when I came along, my mother's people smelled a rat, for my mother rejected all suitors of her own people, and dissappeared often. She and my father escaped with me, both just barely escaping imprisonment. We lived in the wilderness for years. When I was seven, however, my parents were found. Desperate, they shoved me through a portal into your dimension with a genie-slave whom they hoped would take care of me. I don't know what happened to them." Arty stopped to gather her bearings, and Valerie and Danny stayed silent to absorb the information and give her some space. After a moment, she continued. "I let the genie go free. He was very proud anyway, and he hated serving me. Still, he granted me a wish when I set him free, and thats how I got my wings. After that, I kinda went on my merry way. It wasn't hard to find work, and school is interesting. Recently, however, Grantuls, -you know that thing we saw outside?- have been hunting me, which means one of two things. One, someone has found me and wants to kill me or two, someone has found me and wants to use me. Both are bad. The day I met you (she looked at Danny) I'd been ambushed by ten of them, and I'd just barely gotten away, using the last of my strength to escape. Thanks for the help, by the way."

"You're welcome." Danny said as he wondered how he'd missed seeing the fight.

"Wait a minute!" Valerie interjected, a bit confused, "you've met before?!"

"Yea." They answered simultaneously. Arty went on. "Actually, I fell onto him and passed out. He helped me; if it weren't for him my leg wouldn't be the only thing broken."

Valerie gaped at the ghost beside her. "But you're evil! Why didn't you kill her, or possess her or something?"

Danny sighed. "I've told you a thousand times, I'm not evil!"

"And now hes got someone to vouch for him. I believe he isn't evil. If anything, he's a bit mother hennish, fussing over my wounds and my sleep."

"Hey!" Danny exclaimed, blushing. "I am not!"

"Uh-huh, suuuure you aren't." The winged girl countered smugly.

"Whaaaaaat?" Valerie was quite confused by now. She rounded on the ghost. "What have you done to her?"

"Nothing!" they both exclaimed.

"Humph." It was quite clear the huntress didn't see eye to eye with them. But seeing the girl's thankfulness and the ghost's blushes at her teasing (how did a ghost blush anyway?) she was inclined to believe they were telling the truth. Lost in thought, she ignored them until she heard an odd question from the elemtental hybrid: "So, how did you get like that?"

The ghost boy looked a little edgy as he responded. "Like what?"

Arty gestured at him. "You know, all glowy and dressed in hazmat."

"Oh, well umm. My parents are inventors, and I kinda had an accident in their lab."

Arty frowned, sensing something left out, but decided to ask later. "And you?"

Valerie puffed out her chest, proud of her work. "I was given it to hunt _him_."

Once again, the winged girl frowned. That wasn't good: her two greatest potential allies were doomed to clash, if the girl's stubborness said anything. Still, if they had a mutual enemy they fought well together.

Arty stood up. "Well, I'd better get going." Both of them looked at her- what about her leg? "What? I heal quickly! And you should know, Phantom."

The hybrid in question waved her comment off. "You should stay with Valerie, even if you are better."

"What? But then I'd have to reveal my secret identity to her!" Both girls yelled simultaneously. Uh-oh, Danny thought.


	6. Danger

**Mysterie**

/ I'm typing this on my phone, so I'm sorry if it takes some time! I hope you like it, anyway. waves cheerily at the readers :P

**Disclaimer time!****  
Arystyem: The author does not own Danny Phantom. If you want to sue my creator, ya gotta face me first- and there's no way I'll lose!**

Danny looked from one to the other. It was obvious neither would give in on this point. He sighed, it seemed there would only be one way to resolve this.

"Fine. Arty, you're coming to my house again."

Once again, Valerie was stunned. "You have a house?! What about the owners? Do you have medical equipment? Since when did you have a HOUSE?" On the last word, both Danny and Arty covered their sensitive ears.

"Calm down Valerie. In order, yes, I have a house. The owners still live in it, and I do have stuff to treat her with there. ("Not that I need it." Arty huffed rebelliously.) And, I've had a house since I - came into being."

Valerie looked at him doubtfully, clearly expressing her dissaproval. Seeing this, Arty opened her mouth.

"It'll be fine for both of us. Besides, y'know when I said I passed out on him and he helped me?" After a moment, Valerie nodded cautiously. "Well he kinda took me to his house and treated me there. He's done nothing to the owners, I doubt they even know he is there. And he made me sleep in his bed! He is such a mother hen!"

Danny, who was quite red by now, quickly countered with an "I am not!" but it lacked conviction.

Valerie looked at the two, and slowly a smile spread across her face. "OK, sounds good, but you'll let this hen next to me carry you out of the building first, got it?"

Arty grinned. "Sure, I'll let him help me to the egg-sit."

The two girls burst into laughter, while Danny protested weakly. Eventually, they regained control of themselves and said their goodbyes. Then, Danny grabbed Arty's hand and flew her through the wall, into the open air. Just as when he was going to let her go to fly on her own, her grip tightened almost painfully on his hand. He opened his mouth, but she silenced him with a wave of her hand. Belatedly, he realized she was tensed in a fight-or-flight response.

"Quiet!" she hissed. "Invisibility, and intangibility, now!"

Hastily, he obeyed, just in time for a grantul to fly straight through them. Confused, it looked around for its prey, but found nothing. Danny was about the fight it when he noticed three others flying their way. He glanced at his companion and knew she was thinking the same thing as him: time to leave and fast. Quickly, they slipped silently away, and retained the invisibility and intangibility until they slipped into Danny's room.

"What was that about?" he wondered alound.

The elemental hybrid beside him hung her head in shame. "They're massing here, hoping to catch me. If they don't, they will destroy the city."

Danny gasped, shocked. Her head hung lower.

"Now it's certain. I have to leave, or innocent people wikll get hurt."

Danny looked at her incredulously. "And leave the only people who can help you? The whole town has had experience with ghost hunting, why not Grantul-hunting too?"

Now it was the winged girl's turn to stare. "But you'll get hurt! I can't let that happen!"

"Listen," he said seriously, grabbing her shoulders, "I said the exact same thing to my friends when we first started ghost hunting, and they told me this: we understand, and we're willing to do this despite the risks. So now we're saying this to you: no matter what, we will stand by you."

Arty's eyes filled with tears. "But that's for the good of the town! If I leave, you'll all get off scott-free, don't you understand? It's better for everyone if I just continue my life, and forget you! Valerie's content with her lifestyle and you've got someone that loves you. I can't ask you to sacrifice that."

"No, it's not!" He shook her rougly to get his point across. "It's not better for _you_! We won't leave you to such a fatem especially when we've got the numbers and the materials to fight them! At least promise me you'll consider it!"

She looked down, but mumbled quietly, "I'll consider it."

He sighed with relief, sure that he'd eventually get her to agree, even if he had to tie her down. "OK, now you can sleep in the guest bedroom, which is right around the corner..."


	7. Capture

**Mysterie**

/ I'm typing this on my phone, so I'm sorry if it takes some time! I hope you like it, anyway. waves cheerily at the readers :P

**Disclaimer time!  
Arystyem: The author does not own Danny Phantom. Creates a rather large fireball in one hand and an ice-sword in the other. You. Will. Not. Sue. Got it?**

Just after midnight, Danny's eyes popped open. Something wasn't right. Quickly he got up, transformed, and went through a couple walls to check on Arty.

As he entered the guest bedroom, he gasped; it was empty, and the window was open. There was no note, and the only sign she'd slept there was the blanket hanging haphazardly over one side of the bed. He picked it up, and in doing so, noticed several rather large holes in it, as if a rather large clawed foot had stepped heavily on it... Oh my God, he thought, grantuls! Somehow they'd snuck in and taken her! And, he realized sadly, she wouldn't have fought them, wanting to protect him and everyone else. Well, they couldn't have gotten far, he thought. He made a silent promise to bring her back. This game of cat and mouse had to end, and there was no way he'd let her lose. She shouldn't have to suffer for existing. Also, it was his fault that she had been captured; he hadn't kept a close enough eye on her. Well, he thought, lets fix this.

Turning invisible, he flew out the window, looking for anything unusual. There! A large group of grantuls was flying single file across the sky. Carefully, he floated up and invisibly added himself to the line.

Half an hour later of mindless flying later, something weird happened. One by one, the monsters disappeared into what seemed to be thin air. As Danny came closer to the vanishing-spot, he began to see traces of red and blue light shining in front of him. Suddenly the last grantul in front of him vanished, and he was face to face with an orb of light about the size of his fist. Red and blue light swam enchantingly over its surface, giving the impression of a 3-D ying and yang, but with blue and red instead of black and white. However, the colors did not mix; instead they stayed with their respective regions, and they didn't even seem to touch. Danny remembered what Arty had said: she was from another dimension in which the people were divided because some controlled fire and others, water. Somehow, Danny knew this had to be a portal to her dimension. He hesitated for a moment, then reminded himself of his promise to save Arty. Cautiously, he stretched out a hand and touched it. Immediately, he felt as though half of him was burning and the other half freezing. Though the feeling only lasted a moment, he had to take a few deep breaths before doing anything. When he had calmed down, he looked up. First, he turned around and found a gray, smoggy with a few rays of light penetrating from the inside orb behind him. The portal to his dimension. Carefully, he made an invisible ring of ectoplasm around it. This allowed him to be able to find it again, no matter what. When that was done, he turned for his first look at Arty's dimension.

The first thing he noticed was that the land was barren. It looked as though someone had burned everything for miles, leaving bleak, black earth. In the middle of the desolation stood a seemingly medieval castle, yet Danny could see searchlights on each gray tower, and many lights within. Other than that, however, it seemed as inviting as its surroundings. Oddly, the structure had no moat, and there didn't seem to be a drop of water anywhere near it.

Danny shivered at the haunting sight, then snapped back to the present when he saw that the grantuls had left him behind. Their flight pattern had changed, and now they were flying lower and heading directly for the castle.

He trailed after them as they entered, but when they started to turn a bunch of corners he abandoned them, following the logic that the most interesting things are always at the center. However, the castle seemed to be a labyrinth, so he ended up simply flying through walls until he reached a large, round room which held a foreboding atmosphere. Wary but curious, Danny invisibly surveyed the room. The carpet was black, almost camouflaging a dark figure sitting behind a sleek, black desk; a single dirty light bulb hanging from a couple of wires sprouting from the stone ceiling illuminated the scene. The walls were painted with various hues of red, from extremely pale red to scarlet to such a dark shade it was almost black. In the poor lighting, the perimeter of the room seemed to be on fire.

Suddenly, a set of double doors across the room from the desk was flung open and a body launched inside. Danny's eyes quickly scanned the bedraggled figure, then widened in hope and fear.

_Arty!_

_A/N: Yet another chappie up! This is going to go a bit faster now that my summer class is over and because of a deal I've sturck with one of my reviewers. So yay! More fantasy fun...ish stuff. Please tell me what you think! And thank you to **werewolf5**, and **Adriannrod Svit-Kona Sama** for reviewing! _


	8. Evil

**Mysterie**

/ I'm typing this on my phone, so I'm sorry if it takes some time! I hope you like it, anyway. waves cheerily at the readers :P

**Disclaimer time!  
Arystyem: -reading off script- the author... likes flying pink bunnies? -narrow eyes- ok, who left the sugar out?  
-all occupants of the house hide and cower in fear-  
Me: WHEEEEEE!  
Arty: ANYWAY... Haru owns nothing. Not even Haru's own soul...**

The bound girl's face remained expressionless, but the way she relaxed a bit showed Danny that she'd heard his hushed exclamation. Danny, for his part, landed invisibly in front of her, incase of an attack.

Then, the shadowy figure across from them began to speak. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the pathetic little hybrid."

It was hard to tell exactly what he looked like in the shadows, but what was clear was frightening. A snow-white, bald skull. One flaming eye, literally sparking, while the other eye was permanently closed by a horrible pale pink scar, drawn vertically over almost half his face by what looked like a knife. He was thin and paper-pale, but he wore a black trenchcoat that contrasted sharply with his complexion. As he looked upon his prisoner, he showed only contempt, as if he looked upon her as a pawn instead of a person.

She scowled furiously at him. "Who are you and what do you want?!"

While the man smirked at Arty, Danny inspected the ropes that bound her. From the various scorch marks, he gathered that they were flame-resistant but, he smirked, were they ectoplam-resistant? He put one glowing hand on the ropes. And was immediately blown backwards. Fortunately, he caught himself in midair, and quietly flew back down again. Seems he'd have to do this the old school way. He quietly used his powers to carve a sharp, dagger-like piece of rock and began to saw away at the ropes. Meanwhile, the man behind the desk leered at the incapacitated hybrid.

"You will be mine soon. Just like your parents. But don't get your hopes up, m'dear. Even if they did see you, they wouldn't recognize you. In fact, lets bring them in now." He pressed a hidden button in his desk, and the doors swung open again to reveal two figures.

The first, a woman, looked as though she had once been incredibly beautiful. She had long, lustrous, light-brown hair like Arty which was tied back by a vaguely familiar leaf-green headband. She also had a slim, willowy figure cloaked in a violet dress, and sapphire eyes that were also vaguely familiar. But now her hair was tangled and unkempt, her headband almost falling off and her dress full of holes. Worst of all, her gem-like eyes were glazed and stared straight ahead, as if her daughter wasn't gazing up at her with tear filled eyes. The man, too, looked as if he had known better days. Once shining black hair was a dull greasy gray, a once-stunning suit was shredded, and Arty's amethyst eyes did not shine from his face, but rather stared off into a point in space, without a trace of his daughter's vibrancy. Like his wife, he ignored his daughter's cries of "Mother! Father! Look at me, please!"

Danny could only watch, horrified, as the young girl tried fruitlessly to reach her parents. He felt very desolate, seeing tears streaming down her cheeks and being able to do nothing about them except brush away his own as he looked upon the heart wrenching sight. In the background, their captor cackled maniacally.

Suddenly, Danny had an idea. Setting down the rock and promising to finish cutting Arty's bonds (he was about halfway done), he flew inside the girl's dad. Looking around his minds, the halfa found that something was overpowering his true self. Looking at the physical aspects of the man, Danny found a small piece of metal carved in the shape of a flame on the back of the man's neck. Peeking over at Arty's mother, he saw the same thing. Of course! That was what was controlling them. But how to get them off? He tried pulling, but there seemed to be attached with barbed needles, and he didn't want to hurt Arty's parents. He could turn them intangible, but what if something bad happened? There had to be another way. Quickly, he flew over to the desk. The creep behind it frowned at the sudden drop in temperature, but seemed to dismiss it, preferring to taunt his distraught captive. Big mistake, old man, Danny thought, grinning ferally. Poking his head through the desk, he found a bunch of buttons. One was labeled PA, another Summon, a third massue (Danny nearly became visible, he was trying so hard to stop giggling) and the last one was Release.

That, he thought, could come in handy.

However, he was jerked back to reality when he heard Arty scream, and the evil guy chuckle "have fun in the dungeons!" He quickly flew up, then dived into the trapdoor his friend had fallen through moments before it closed.

He found Arty weeping on a pile of moldy straw. Without thinking, he gathered her in his arms, and she cried quietly into his shoulder, muttering about her stupidity and her parents. Danny gently rocked her, murmuring reassurances, until her expression relaxed and her breathing evened out. Gently, he lay her down on the straw. Looking around, he reached through a wall and snatched a blanket from what he assumed were guard supplies, and settled it over her. Then he sat with his back against a wall, and planned their escape.

_A/N: Ooh plot twist! (kinda) Thank-yous go to **CatalystOfTheSoul**, **Shining Owl**, and** werewolf5**, my wonderful reviewers! Hope you all enjoy! ._


	9. Plan

**Mysterie**

/ I'm typing this on my phone, so I'm sorry if it takes some time! I hope you like it, anyway. waves cheerily at the readers :P

**Disclaimer time!  
Arystyem: Haru does not own Danny Phantom. If you want find out how chocolate chip cookies feel when they are made, all you have to do is accuse her of plagerism.**

Danny woke up warm and comfortable. For a moment, he wondered where he was, them remembered, a feral grin spreading over his face as he reviewed their escape. Then, he looked around himself. Somehow, he'd gotten onto the straw that served as a bed, and one of Arty's wings was covering him. As he shifted to get out from under it, the girl woke up.

"Hmm? Oh, Danny! Sorry, I'll get right off you." Quickly, she retracted her wing, pressing it tightly to her back. Then, she began to look around. "Where are we? Oh no, my parents! We have to help them escape! What should we do? Wh-"

He cut her off by putting a hand over her mouth. "Shh! It's ok, I've got a plan."

Slowly, she settled down a bit, and he relaxed again.

"Now," he began, "a guard is coming in ten minutes, so lets make this quick." And he bent down to whisper in her ear.

Ten minutes later, the guard came, accompanied by two grantuls. Instead of just glancing at the prisoner as he usually did, however, the sentry came up to the cell and unlocked it to admit his unpleasant companions. They made their way in clumsily, and immediately made their way over to the prisoner, leering at her apparent helplesness. As they stuffed her roughly in a sack, neither abomination felt another presence in the cell with them. Nor did they feel it follow them to what would soon become a battlefield.

_A/N: Ahh! An incredibly short chapter! I'm sorry, I didn't have much time over vacation to work on this. I'll make the next one way longer and better, I promise! Before I forget, thanks go to **sdphantom10**,** werewolf5**, and** CatalystOfTheSoul** for their awesome reviews. I promise to update quickly!_


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